Harlan Cobenís first book in the Myron Bolitar series introduces Myron, a sports agent who has his own company, MB Sports Reps, as well as the main characters that will appear in the subsequent novels: Esperanza, a former professional wrestler and Windsor Horne Lockwood III, who are Myronís best friends, and Jessica Culver, a famous writer and Myronís love interest. Myron is a smart-mouthed, very funny character, which makes the novels delightfully upbeat, even though there is plenty of danger and suspense as the novels unfold. Prior to becoming a sports agent, Myron was a very promising basketball star, but his career was cut short due to an injury; the history is explained.

In Deal Breaker, Myron is excited to be representing his most famous and powerful client, Christian Steele, a star quarterback, who has the ability to make millions in endorsements for himself and tens of thousands for Myron. Everything is not perfect, however, since Christianís girlfriend, Kathy, has been missing and presumed dead for about 18 months. It just so happens that Kathy is the sister of Jessica Culver, who is Myronís only true love. Jessica left Myron four years prior and broke his heart. Adam Culver, Jessicaís father, has just been murdered in what the police believe was a random robbery, but Myron thinks there may be a connection between the murder and Kathyís disappearance. Jessica shows up and asks Myron to investigate the murder and any connection to her sister.

There are many subplots throughout this book: Kathy Culver changed drastically prior to her disappearance; a picture of Kathy in a magazine advertising 900 numbers has been sent to several people who may be connected with her disappearance; Kathyís former college roommate and close friend is murdered; Myron is negotiating Christianís contract, as well as other clientís contracts and is up against some evil and violent mobsters who have threatened his life, to name a few.

It is no wonder that Harlan Coben is one of the premier thriller writers and that his books are #1 bestsellers. The wit and humor make reading Deal Breaker lots of fun, and his characterizations are masterful; it feels like Myron, et al. are real people. This novel is a fast read, and makes it possible to move on to the subsequent novels quickly, which is what most readers will want to do. The novels do contain some profanity, sexual innuendo, and mild violence, but it is not particularly overt. For thriller fans who like a bit of comic relief, Deal Breaker is recommended reading; it is also recommended that this book be read first if planning to read all the books in the series so as to understand the characters and history.

This book was purchased with personal funds and no promotion of the book was solicited by the author or publisher.